Arbroath 36 Bon Accord 0
Arbroath, Angus and Dundee The 12th of September 1885 AD
As Trevor Francis would surely have said, Bon Accord will be disappointed with that. Their losing score in an 1885 Scottish Cup game against Arbroath was 36 – 0, more like a cricket score, which is fitting as Bon Accord was basically a football side put out by an Aberdeen cricket club.
As ever, things could have been worse. The referee, Mr Stormont, disallowed five more possible goals for offside, though he later stated that such was the speed of Arbroath’s passing they were probably onside in reality.
The result reflected the fact that Bon Accord were playing in error – their cricket team, Orion CC, had been sent an invitation to the tournament when another Aberdonian sporting organisation, Orion FC should have received it. But in those days of five forwards and two defenders, and with the way to play the game developing, big scores were not unusual, indeed on the same day Aberdeen Rovers lost 35 – 0 to Dundee Harp.
To date the 36-0 scoreline remains the biggest in British senior football.
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